


Snowflakes in the Wind

by eternalparadox (paradoxicallysimplistic)



Series: ereri-events [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dorks in Love, Ereri Secret Santa 2017, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Snow, Winter, ererisecretsanta2k17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-20 16:47:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13150824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paradoxicallysimplistic/pseuds/eternalparadox
Summary: It's snowing outside and Eren persuades his boyfriend, Levi, to come outside with him and play.





	Snowflakes in the Wind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sulkingmoon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sulkingmoon/gifts).



> Merry Christmas (if you celebrate) and happy holidays to you, sulkingmoon! I hope you enjoy this piece!

“Levi, Levi, Levi!”

“What?”

“Let’s go outside.” Eren grabbed his boyfriend’s arm.

“Tch, no. It fucking snowed last night.”

“But that’s why we need to go today! It’s all pretty and white outside!”

“You mean obnoxious and blinding.” The college senior grunted. Having seen snow more times than he could count, the dark-haired male found nothing particularly special about it.

“Aww, but you went out with me last year.” It wasn’t Eren’s first time seeing snow, but growing up in the south meant limited exposure to the wintry substance. He had often seen it from afar on passing mountaintops and on television screens, but had never experienced it until last year.

“Only because you forced me to.”

“I didn’t force you to.”

“Why do you need me? Just go out by yourself.” Tossing the blanket over himself a little more securely, Levi refused to look up and at his boyfriend. He knew if he did, he wouldn’t have the will to resist Eren’s pout.

“But it’s no fun without you.”

All Levi did was grunt in response.

“Pleaseeee, I’ll make it up to you later?”

“No. Can’t you see I’m working?” Levi knew he was being petulant and finding excuses to remain indoors. It was cold outside for fuck’s sake. And he hadn’t made much progress on his senior thesis this morning, only minor edits here and there. Though, he had already written some semblance of a draft compared to most others in his year who hadn’t written anything yet. And there was still more than four months before it needed to be handed in.

“You can work on your thesis later.” The brunet didn’t want to play the ‘what’s more important, work or me’ card, but it was the holidays. They were here to relax, unwind, and spend some time in Levi’s hometown. Not to work.

“It’ll be the only thing I ask you over the holiday.” Eren wheedled, green eyes boring holes at his boyfriend. “Please…” He purred the last few words, placing a hand on Levi’s chest, and rubbed in a slow circular motion.

Levi looked up at hand against his chest and followed the trail up to see Eren’s pert mouth turned upside down, downcast eyes, and furrowed brows. It was the one pose he was weak to. And Eren knew it. But Levi was too proud to relinquish his position just yet.

“What were you thinking?”

“Hmm?” Eren leaned forward, pressing his hands deeper down.

“How are you going to make it up to me, brat?”

“I’ll do _all_ the cooking and cleaning for a week when we get back.” Eren hummed, and then leaned down to whisper something meant for Levi’s ears only. When he moved back, he could see the gleam of interest in his boyfriend’s eyes. “So how about it, Lee?”

Contemplating the bargain, the older male, finally put aside his laptop and sighed. “Fine, but if it’s not up to par, I’ll have you clean the bathroom for a week.”

“Sweet! I love you, babe.” Pecking his boyfriend on the mouth quickly, Eren climbed off and ran to grab his winter gear. The sooner they got outside, the sooner he could play in the snow.

Levi sighed, rubbing his eyes as he stood up. It was amazing how much energy Eren had. His boyfriend would usually sleep until eleven during the weekends or holidays, but it was barely ten a.m. and the brat was already up and bouncing off the walls. Grabbing his woolen coat, he punched out a quick text to his mom, telling her that they’d be back in an hour or two, before following Eren outside.

“It’s snooowwwing!” It really wasn’t – most of the snow had fallen early in the morning and the sun had poked out from beneath the clouds – but there were still a few snowflakes drifting in the air. Eren grinned happily as he skipped on the streets.

“So where did you want to go?”

“The park maybe?”

“Come on then.” He had brought Eren to the small park a  few blocks down the road and right around the corner last year. It wasn’t big, but it was a popular place for kids in the neighborhood. They were up pretty early though, so there was a good chance they’d be the only ones there. “You’re going the wrong way.” He gestured and Eren immediately followed him, almost like a puppy dog, the brunet’s big green eyes sparkling with excitement. Levi could almost see the wagging tail and panting tongue from how eager Eren was.

They made small talk, walking on the sidewalks covered in crisp fallen snow. Most of it had yet to be shoveled, making their trip take thirty percent longer. But it was nicer that way. Instead of seeing the muddy tracks and brown slush that would inevitably form, what lay before them was untouched, virgin snow.

The moment Eren set his eyes on the field of white, he dashed forward, dancing amongst the flakes of white as he laughed. “It’s so white!”

“Don’t fall and hurt yourself, brat.” Levi took a much more restrained approach, taking slow, deliberate steps into the part, attempting to follow the footpath as best as possible. Luckily, the air was dry so the snow hadn’t congealed and stuck together. Levi hated it when it became slushy and melted.

“I won’t.” Eren stuck his tongue out before proceeding to spin in a wide circle. “It’s so pretty!” The brunet hadn’t seen any snow while growing up in the south. Instead, they got rain. This was only his second time seeing snow; the last time had been a year ago when they had come up north to visit Levi’s mom.

“Tch, it’s not you first time seeing it.” The older male muttered under his breath. Even though it wasn’t his first or even his second time seeing snow, Levi silently agreed that the expanse of endless white, with no other colors aside from the bluish-grey skies and a few specks dotting the background was a sight to behold. It was amazing at how pure and clean it looked. Not colorless as one might have expected, but pristine and untainted. It was always nice for the first minute or two, but seeing nothing but pure white became blinding quite quickly. Blinking, he rapidly refocused to watch Eren dig his hands into the pure white and flick it up into the air.

“What are you doing, Yeager?” Levi purposely stayed a few feet away from Eren. Growing up in snow country had taught him that staying away from the snow was the best way to keep warm and dry. It wasn’t freezing outside, but it was definitely chilly. The brisk walk they had earlier had ameliorated the effects of the weather, but the chill was beginning to seep back now that he wasn’t moving as much.

“Playing!” The twenty-one-year-old’s response echoed like merry bells across the park. A part of him was tempted to initiate a snowball fight or build a snowman with Levi, but the conditions weren’t right; the snow was too dry. He had done so last year and gotten his ass handed to him in the snowball fight, and Levi had ignored him when making the snowman.

Digging his gloved hands into the powdery white and lifted it up, sending a flurry of white sprinkles into the air. Spinning around in a circle, there was something enchanted about the beautiful crystallized ice floating down on him. A few of them landed on his face and he had to brush them off, but Eren didn’t mind as he sent another flurry of snow into the air.

Pulling off his glove, Eren put his hand out, watching the delicate, cold snowflakes land on his bare skin. The first few melted within seconds, forming small tiny puddles his hand. The cool air gradually chilled his hand down enough that the next few which landed didn’t melt.

The weightless miracle of science on his palm was perfect. So tiny he couldn’t feel the cold, but could see the delicate web-like pattern fanning out from a hexagonal core in six-prongs. Eren was in awe as another landed on his hand, slightly larger than the first, containing a different pattern, but just as beautiful. The first had been more block-like in shape, while the second looked more like a feature with delicate tines poking out from each arm, ending in a trident-like tip. It was amazing how mother nature could generate such gorgeous ice crystals, each one unique and perfect.

“Levi! Can’t you see how pretty it is?” Eren beamed at his boyfriend who was merely standing there, sharply dressed in his woolen peacoat and bundled up with scarves and gloves. Kuchel had showed him pictures of Levi as a child trussed up like a human marshmallow, puffy and wrapped up in layers, and while that would have been a delight to see in person, this wasn’t bad either.

“See? Look how perfect it is.” He brought his hand closer to his boyfriend.

Glancing at the small speck before it melted, Levi had to admit it was pretty, but it wasn’t as pretty as the brat standing next to him. He wished he had taken out his camera to capture the sight of Eren spinning and laughing as ice crystals drifted downwards. The vivid image of his boyfriend in dark green with a knitted red beanie complete with puffy pom-poms, hands raised, as he danced in the snow was one Levi wanted to memorialize forever.

 _You’re perfect…_ Levi thought to himself. Part of why he had agreed to face the shitty weather was to see the brilliant joy on Eren’s face. While the pure white falling from the skies and covering the earth with snow was beautiful, it could never compare to the infectious joy on the brunet’s face. In his esteem, the most beautiful thing right now against the pure whiteness blanketing everything around was Eren and the way his emerald orbs twinkled.

“Levi?” Eren frowned when Levi didn’t respond. The older man, only by a couple of months, wasn’t talkative on a normal day, but had expected _some_ kind of response at least. Instead, all he saw was a soft look of fondness as Levi looked at him; at least that was what it looked like as it was difficult to see what he was thinking to begin with and the layers didn’t help at all.

“What?” Wrapped up in his thoughts, Levi was caught off guard by the sudden scrutiny of Eren’s question.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Is there a reason I can’t stare at my boyfriend?” Levi’s fond gaze lingering on him sent the butterflies in Eren’s gut flying.

“Tell me!” Eren huffed, turning his smile into a pouty frown. He knew he was acting childish, but he didn’t care.

“Just thinking how cute you look.” There was a whole host of other words he could have used, but ‘cute’ was definitely at the top of the list.

“Levi! I’m not cute!” The brunet retorted heatedly, unable to help the bubble of warmth in his heart from expanding.

“Yes, you are.” He loved the way Eren’s eyes sparkled like the grassy greens on a bright summer day. Or the optimistic, childish zeal he had for life. A smile graced his lips as he cupped Eren’s cheeks, making the blushing brunet look turn his way. “You’re adorable covered in snow.” Bringing his gloved hands to Eren’s face, he gently brushed the few specks of white off.

“Levi, I can do that myself!”

“I know, but I want to.” When he was done, Levi paused for a moment, cupping his hands against Eren’s face, to admire his handiwork. “See? Adorable.” Bringing their faces closer together, Levi let his cool lips press up against Eren’s for just a moment.

“L-Levi…!” All traces of irritation over being called such sappy terms vanished from the brief kiss. Even after knowing Levi for three years, two of which were spent dating, the man had a way of making him flustered. The kiss wasn’t to mark any special occasion, nor was it anything spectacular, just a gentle press of lips against each other, but it was just as magical under the backdrop of winter in the middle of the park.

“What?” He loved watching Eren blush and stammer out words like that. It only made him even more adorable.

“Nothing.” Eren smiled at his boyfriend, resting his forehead against Levi’s. Public displays of affection had gradually grown more common between them, but most of the times, he was the one who initiated it. Levi was getting better at it, but he still had an aversion to such things normally.

Grabbing Levi’s gloved hands in his, Eren kissed his boyfriend softly on the lips. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

They stood there for a minute just staring at each other and basking in one another’s presence before a cool wintry gust of air blew through, picking and raining already-fallen snow onto them.

“Tch, it’s fucking cold.” Levi huffed, hunching his shoulders and hiding his hands back into his pockets. It had only been twenty minutes since they only left the warmth of the house, and it was twenty minutes he would have much rather have spent relaxing on the couch with a cup of hot tea.

“My poor baby.” Eren cooed. There was a light dusting of snow beginning to collect on Levi’s bangs, speckling the jet black strands with white. Raising his hand, he lightly brushed the powder snow off, knowing how much the shorter man hated rainwater on his hair and clothes.

“Stop it.” Levi tried to move away from the brunet’s movements, but Eren didn’t relent. “What are you doing?”

“Brushing the snow off your hair. You did the same to me.” The brunet reached out again.

“I can do that myself, Yeager.”

“Aw, come on, Lee!” Eren shot his arm out, only to have his wrist trapped by Levi. Trying again, he reached out with his left hand and managed to sneak in one or two brushes before his boyfriend escaped again.

“Fuck! Stop that!” Levi jumped back, away from Eren’s freezing cold and grabby hands. “Your hands are fucking cold!”

“But you know what they say, cold hands means a warm heart.” Eren playfully teased.

“Whatever.” Levi frowned, swatting at his jet black locks. Without a mirror it was impossible to know the damage Eren or the wind had caused, and the gloves certainly did not help matters. “Just put your gloves back on before you get frostbite or something.”

“Yes, mom.”

“Shitty brat.” Shaking his head at Eren’s insolence, Levi waited until the brat had listened and put his gloves back on – it wasn’t cold enough to get frostbite without prolonged exposure, but the air was dry and it was bad for circulation – before speaking up again. “Are you finished playing in the snow?”

“For now, yeah. I’m getting a little hungry.”

“Did you even eat breakfast?” Levi frowned. He hadn’t been paying much attention, but the first recollection he had of Eren this morning had been of his boyfriend begging to go outside.

“Nope.” He had been too excited to go outside to even think about food. And it certainly wasn’t the first time he had gone without breakfast. Being a college student translated into late nights, skipped meals, and subsisting on coffee.

“Tch, we’re going home then.” Levi began walking in the direction of his mom’s home without even looking back, knowing that Eren would follow. Levi was well aware of his boyfriend’s inability to take care of himself and while it was difficult to do during the school year, it rankled him to no end.

Eren quickly jogged up to and matched his pace with Levi’s. For someone so short, his boyfriend kept up a powerful and quick pace. “Hey Levi?”

“Hmm?”

“What are you planning on doing after this?”

“Dunno. Work?”

“That’s boooring. Why don’t we catch a movie on Netflix or something?”

“It better not be one of those shitty B-list movies you picked before.” Levi shuddered at the memory. The moment he saw the title he regretted ever agreeing to let Eren decide the movie without consulting him.

“But it was about man-eating sharks flying in a tornado!” The brunet argued. He had only chosen it because the premise sounded interesting, in a cheesy way. The movie had turned out to be so bad, it was almost good. At the dark expression on Levi’s face, Eren sighed. “Okay, maybe something Christmas-y?” Levi shot him a skeptical glance. “We can always cuddle under the blankets if it’s bad. I know how much you like that.”

“Tch.” There was no heat this time as Levi clicked his tongue.

“And can you make that hot cocoa you made last time? It was realllly good.” The chocolatey goodness had been absolutely decadent. Not overpoweringly sweet as most place made it, but smooth, rich, creamy with the perfect hint of bitterness. Eren had no idea how Levi did it – it had something to do with how he foamed up the milk before adding it to the cocoa and sugar mixture – but he had never had anything as good. And Levi refused to make it in the dorm kitchen since it was a communal space.

“Fine, but when we get back you need to wash your hands and shower.”

“Love you too, mom.” Eren droned sarcastically.

“Shut up, brat.”

Half an hour later after Eren had showered and eaten breakfast, the two of them crawled onto the couch, fleece throw tossed over top, hands cupping mugs of steaming hot cocoa, and turned on the television.

 _Not bad…_ Levi thought to himself as he arranged the fleece more snugly around himself. He had always associated the winter with snow, cold weather, and too much noise (due to the celebrations), but hunkering down and watching a movie with Eren wasn’t bad at all.


End file.
